I'll just come out and say it. I'm in a book club. Some of you already knew this about me, but to some of you this may come as a surprise. A book club? Is she that desperate for social interaction? Is she that big of a nerd? Well, my answers are yes and yes, but give me a break, I'm in China for goodness sakes.
I must hasten to say that it's way cooler than you might originally think. To start with, it's really more of a glorified girls night than anything else: a chance to make appetizers and fondue and hang out on a weeknight. The book just gives us a foundation for the evening's conversation. I really enjoy the meetings even if I don't always enjoy the books. The three (sometimes four) other girls that meet together for our bookclub have quickly become some of my best friends in Shanghai.
This past weekend we decided to make our bond official in the form of a trip, so I took the plunge and signed up for the weekend outing crossing my fingers all would go well.
Don't worry, it did. We went to a little water town that is technically a part of Shanghai even though it's an hour and a half away. (They just decided to claim it I guess. Like Memphis did to Cordova). We walked around the Old Town for all of ten minutes before we'd had enough. There wasn't anything we needed to see badly enough to justify being smushed shoulder to shoulder with hundreds of Chinese people to squish through the tight alley ways.
We had lunch here.
Then we made our way to the super awesome five star hotel executive suite room that was reserved for us. The instigator of this outing was Pam, and since she had a big birthday she wanted to celebrate in style. We did not object as this meant we would be luxuriating in the suite also.
What I was not expecting about the weekend was the silly picture showdown/extravaganza! (you can't say extravaganza without and exclamation afterward) that unfolded the moment we checked in. It was a little junior high, certainly, but what can I say? A challenge presented itself, and I had to accept.
This is certainly not the best picture we took, or even a good picture, however, I was pleased to discover I can still do a cartwheel. This is proof of that fact.
Afterwards we had a night of movies, Cranium, Nerts and more movies. And delicious snacks. The following morning we had a fantastic buffet breakfast with real french press coffee- it was marvelous. Then, just like that, it was time to check out and our weekend of fun was over.
I would have been sad, but I have the excitement of guests coming this week to look forward to! This Friday we're welcoming Dan and Uncle Bob into our apartment to spend ten days with us. We can't wait!
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